Criminals take aim at diesel trucks

Sunday

Dec 9, 2012 at 12:01 AM

STOCKTON - The first inkling of a problem started in mid-October with a call to the service desk at Stockton Dodge. The owner of a Ram 2500 pickup with a Cummins Diesel engine needed a new catalytic converter installed. Why? Because his had been stolen.

Joe Goldeen

STOCKTON - The first inkling of a problem started in mid-October with a call to the service desk at Stockton Dodge. The owner of a Ram 2500 pickup with a Cummins Diesel engine needed a new catalytic converter installed. Why? Because his had been stolen.

While the theft of a vehicle's catalytic converter is unfortunately not an uncommon occurrence over the past half-decade, Dodge's diesel pickups have never been the target - until recently.

That first call was the leading edge of a tidal wave of reports of stolen Dodge Ram diesel catalytic converters that hasn't let up since.

Stockton Dodge service director Carl Hansen reported Friday that his shop has replaced or is in the process of replacing 26 stolen catalytic converters in the past month and a half. Prior to that, it may have sold one every five to six months. Typically, the expensive parts - ranging in price from $2,900 to $4,900 depending on the model - are not kept in stock.

Once labor and other parts are added in, it can cost the truck owner or his insurance company up to $5,500 to get the vehicle working properly again. If the thieves damage other parts, it can cost even more.

The problem is not only occurring in Stockton, although it appears to be centered here. Pat Clark, a service adviser at Cabral Chrysler Jeep Dodge in Manteca, reported that two customers have come in during the past three weeks needing new catalytic converters for their big Dodge Ram pickups.

"It's the first time I had ever seen one stolen off a diesel truck," Clark said. She added that both customers were from the Stockton area.

Bob Wood, service director at Tracy Chrysler Jeep Dodge, told much the same story. "We've had two within the last month, and our third came in yesterday," Wood said last week. "It's probably only going to get worse."

And at Elk Grove Dodge Chrysler Jeep in south Sacramento County, service director Chuck Holl said he'd likewise never heard of a diesel catalytic converter being stolen off a Dodge pickup until just recently. In the past 20 days, his service department has replaced three, two of which belonged to customers from Lodi.

Other auto shops have seen an uptick in diesel converter installations as well.

Cherokee Muffler owner A.J. Rider said in the past three weeks, he's installed four new Dodge Ram diesel catalytic converters and provided price quotes for another six. Jason Webb, co-owner of Norcal Muffler & Truck, has installed two or three in the past month. Prior to that, his shop had never installed a Dodge Ram diesel converter.

Catalytic converters, first required in 1975 to reduce a vehicle's toxic emissions, are part of the exhaust system and sit generally exposed underneath the middle of most cars and trucks.

Stockton Dodge's Hansen said one customer's converter was stolen on Black Friday while his Ram pickup was parked in the Big Lots parking lot at Hammer and West lanes.

Another customer, Stockton businessman Jason Kimmel, even witnessed the guys who were stealing his converter while his Ram diesel was parked in his store parking lot off East March Lane.

"At the time, I didn't realize what they had done. They ignored me. The truck looked fine, there was no broken glass. It wasn't until I turned it on later in the day - it was really noisy. Bom! Bom! Bom! Bom!" Kimmel said, mimicking the distinctive sound a vehicle makes when its exhaust system has been compromised. When he shifted the truck into drive, it had no power, Kimmel said.

Kimmel, the owner of Floors To Go, is out $1,000 to cover his insurance deductible on a total bill of $4,300. That doesn't include the inconvenience and costs associated with his work truck being out of commission.

When Kimmel called Stockton police to report the incident, he said he got the cold shoulder.

"I had a description of the guys. The police were not interested. The insurance company didn't need a police report," so Kimmel said he didn't report it online as recommended by the dispatcher. "That's really amazing. The police do not enforce misdemeanors any more. That just encourages more crime."

In fact, because of the value of Kimmel's catalytic converter - more than $950 - the crime committed against him could be charged as felony grand theft.

Since Nov. 1, the Stockton Police Department has logged 55 reports of catalytic converter thefts, a rate that has remained fairly steady throughout the year. Of those, 11 were Dodge trucks. Toyotas continue to be the most popular target of catalytic converter thieves, with 38 reports in the past five weeks. The high-value Sequoia, with two or more catalytic converters per vehicle, is most often victimized, even though its converters must be cut off rather than unbolted.

"The Police Department needs people to report crime either by calling in or filing online reports, because that information will be disseminated from our crime information center to our strategic commanders and watch commanders," spokesman Officer Joe Silva said.

"Crime reports filed give our commanders information that the crime series such as a burglary of theft or robbery series is occurring in a certain neighborhood, business district or part of town. Through the commanders' analysis of these reports, it will allow them the ability to best deploy our officers," he said.

Silva said investigators have learned that most catalytic converters stolen in Stockton are being sold outside the area, not to local metal recyclers, all of whom have been educated about the theft problem and the state law that makes it illegal to reuse or recycle a catalytic converter.

Sixty-nine theft cases have been reported to the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office since Jan. 1, of which 52 were Toyotas and five were Dodges, according to Deputy Les Garcia. The agency is in the process of finalizing a new "Etch & Catch" program that will partner with local tire centers to give residents the opportunity to have their vehicle license number etched into their catalytic converter for identification if it is ever stolen and retrieved.

Etching also may act as a deterrent if it's seen before the converter is taken.

Estimates of what the thieves get for the risk involved of stealing the converters that contain small amounts of precious metals such as rhodium and platinum range anywhere from $85 to $160. One estimate put the Dodge Ram diesel converters at $200 because of their larger size.

Norcal Muffler's Webb said that for $100, he will weld some rebar to a vehicle's undercarriage to prevent theft. In the past three years, he's done it 500 times, and not one theft has been reported back to him.

"It's worth it on the expensive cars, since some are more at risk than others. For $100, it's like insurance on your insurance, and you don't end up being without your car," Webb said.